I WAS delighted when last year’s SNP Conference unanimously agreed on measures to increase the diversity of our Holyrood candidates. As well as the conference motion passing, we have had positive statements of intent in relation to increasing the diversity of our parliamentary group from our party leader, deputy leader and business convenor – as well as many others right throughout the ranks of the party.

I know ensuring our party reflects the broad spectrum of Scottish society is an issue that is important to our grassroots activists and members. Members of my own constituency association in Glasgow Pollok were, and continue to be, so supportive of me as a BAME (black, Asian, minority ethnic) elected member, especially when I am faced with racial hatred or Islamophobia on an all-too-regular basis.

I have grown up knowing our party and movement are made up of the many threads of our Scottish tartan. My father joined the SNP in 1979 as the first Glaswegian-Pakistani member. We are an outward-looking, inclusive party that has always been proud of the diversity of our movement.

We have reached many important milestones in this regard over the years and have significant achievements we can, and should, be proud of. The first-ever BAME MSP to be elected to the Scottish Parliament was from the SNP, the late and great Bashir Ahmad. The first-ever BAME female MP to be elected from Scotland was from the SNP, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh. And I have also been proud to play my role as the first BAME person to win a Holyrood constituency seat in Scotland, as well as being the first ethnic minority member of the Government and Cabinet.

We are on the cusp of making another important crack in the proverbial glass ceiling. With Kaukab Stewart being selected as the candidate for Glasgow Kelvin, we have a real opportunity to elect the first-ever woman of colour to the Scottish Parliament in the devolution era. I am delighted for Kaukab, she has served the SNP and the independence movement tirelessly for decades, her selection is thoroughly deserved.

I was so heartened to see the diversity of BAME candidates who put themselves forward, not constrained to the central belt or belonging to one ethnic group, but 22 exceptionally talented BAME candidates standing in seats right across Scotland. I am certain we will see many of these individuals in the frontline of politics before too long.

While celebrating our achievements is important, we must also be frank about where progress has stalled, and in that vein let me be clear, we have failed to make significant progress.

I am beyond disappointed that we have only one additional BAME candidate selected for a constituency seat. Once again, it is a person of Scots-Asian origin who is representing a seat in Glasgow. In the 20-year history of devolution the only BAME MSPs to be elected have been Scots-Asian and from Glasgow.

We should, and could, have done better.

I have spoken to countless people over the last few weeks, from many different communities right across the country. Many feel the SNP is in danger of paying lip service to our commitment to further the diversity of our elected members. I know this is not the case, but it is important we do not lose the faith that many people have put in our party to truly represent the people we serve.

Of course, all is not lost. There is a chance to right this wrong.

The NEC can, and should, look to either zip or reserve spaces for BAME candidates on regional lists. They should explore the possibility of reserving the top spot in half of all the regional lists for a BAME candidate, or potentially one of the top two spots in all regional lists. There will be other ideas too that members may have, either way we must not waste the opportunity to ensure we have more diversity within our Holyrood group come the next elections.

I know our affiliated groups – Scots Asians for Independence and the SNP BAME Network – are making similar representations to the party.

It was merely a matter of months ago that the Scottish Parliament pledged its support, unanimously, for the Black Lives Matters movement. As things stand, the SNP does not have a single black candidate going into the Holyrood elections. That can’t be right. There have been many promises made over the last 12 months from senior people in the SNP (me included) about our commitment to increasing ethnic-minority representation come the next Holyrood elections, we must turn that rhetoric into reality, before time runs out. If we don’t we are in danger of losing the support of many people who look towards us a beacon of progressive values.